Ohio Legislation Proposals

State Representatives , Dorothy Liggett Pelanda and  Nickie Antonio, along with Representatives Ruhl, Barborak, Gonzales, Ramos, Sheehy, Maag, Cera, Heard, Lundy, Hagan, R., Fedor, Phillips, Williams, Ashford, Grossman, Celebrezze, Reece, Scherer, and O'Brien cosponsoring, introduced a bill that would provide “no fee, cost, deposit, or money may be charged for the modification, enforcement, dismissal, or withdrawal of a domestic violence, anti-stalking, sexually oriented offense, or other type of protection order or consent agreement. [ HB 309 ]

   Senator Pro Tempore President Christopher Widener, with Senate President Keith Faber, Majority Floor Leader Tom Patton , Majority Whip Larry Obhof, and Senator Scott Oelslager co-sponsoring introduced a bill seeking a permanent income tax rate reduction of 4% for all tax brackets beginning in 2014, while Tim Schaffer and Bob Peterson proposed “authorize an income tax credit for donations to the permanent endowment fund of an eligible community foundations in Senate Bills 210 and 211, respectively.


  Senate Minority Whip NinaTurner with co-sponsors Tim Schaffer, Assistant Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, and Minority Leader Eric Kearney have introduced SB 212 which in pertinence provide:

“Sec. 101.48. (B)…. Beginning with terms of office that commence after the effective date of this section, once each year, each member of the general assembly shall be subject to a controlled substance assessment to determine whether there is reasonable cause to suspect the member has a chemical dependency. The assessment shall be conducted by a qualified individual selected by mutual agreement of the clerks of the senate and house of representatives. If pursuant to an assessment there is reasonable cause to suspect that a member has a chemical dependency, the member shall submit to a controlled substance test to determine whether the member has a controlled substance test failure. The costs of such assessment and testing shall be paid by the member. The member shall be reimbursed the costs of the testing if the member's test does not reveal a controlled substance test failure.

“ (C) Once each calendar quarter on dates selected by mutual agreement of the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, approximately twenty-five per cent of the membership of the general assembly, chosen randomly, shall undergo a controlled substance assessment…

“(D) Refusal to submit to a controlled substance assessment or test as authorized under this section is an admission that the member has a controlled substance test failure...

“(E) If a member of the general assembly is determined by a controlled substance test conducted under this section to have a controlled substance test failure, the member shall do the following:

(1) Take an additional controlled substance test every thirty days until the member no
longer has a controlled substance test failure;

(2) Undergo substance abuse counseling provided by, or coordinated through, the
employee assistance program established under section 3701.041 of the Revised Code.
[ Renumbered as § 124.88 by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013]